A Biman Bangladesh Airlines Boeing 737-800 suffered an attempted hijack and consequently performed an emergency landing on Sunday.

What are the details?

Biman Bangladesh Flight BG147 was en route from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka (DAC) to Dubai International (DXB) when a man with a pistol tried to enter the cockpit. The pilots were forced to make an emergency landing at Shah Amanat International Airport (CGP) in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Here is the flight information for Biman Bangladesh Flight BG147. Photo: Flightradar 24.

The 134 passengers and 14 crew members aboard the flight were able to disembark the aircraft unharmed. The hijacker, on the other hand, was shot and killed by a commando of the Bangladeshi Army.

The Army and police officers had cordoned off the aircraft after it landed at Chittagong. They were reportedly trying to negotiate with the suspect; however, he was aggressive and would not surrender. Consequently, they shot him. He was injured and died shortly afterward.

According to the Economic Times, Army spokesman Major General Motiur Rahman said: "Our commando team asked the hijacker to surrender, but he rejected it by being aggressive, and was shot. Later on we learnt he had died... We found a pistol from him and nothing else."

Reportedly, it is not clear yet if the pistol is real or a fake.

What do we know about the hijacker?

The hijacker was a Bangladeshi in his mid-twenties. He was identified by the name "Mahadi."

We do not know, however, why Mahadi attempted to hijack the aircraft. Supposedly, he wanted to speak with Sheikh Hasina, the Bangladeshi Prime Minister. Sheikh Hasina is currently visiting Chittagong. Additionally, there have been reports that Mahadi might have been mentally ill and had problems with his wife.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines

Biman Bangladesh Airlines is the flag carrier of Bangladesh. The airline serves over 20 destinations primarily in the Middle East, South and South East Asia, and Europe. Its main hub is at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka; it also has another hub at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong.

Biman Boeing 737-800
Biman Bangladesh currently operates four Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Photo: Wikimedia.

The airlines fleet consists of four Boeing 737-800s, four Boeing 777-300ERs, 2 Boeing 787-8s, and 3 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400s.

Overall

We are very fortunate that none of the passengers or crew members got harmed by Mahadi. Only time will tell if the authorities will be able to determine a motive for this attempted hijacking.

Furthermore, it is not clear how the man was able to make it through security with a pistol. There will almost certainly be a thorough investigation into this security breach.

What are your thoughts on the attempted hijacking?